All Forum Posts by: Josh Gorokhovsky

@Wesley Kuo,

You have to ask yourself, is this the best use of your money?

Putting down $121K to get $12/month and a 0.12% Cash ROI doesn't seem like the best use of it.

With the current state of the market, California, and anywhere near Los Angeles specifically, doesn't seem to be the best area to invest long-term at the moment. Cap rates and ROI are too low. I know some people making decent returns long term going out of state, but I personally have no done so. If you are set on investing in Los Angeles, I may suggest focusing on short term investments (flips) or focusing on value-add long term plays: finding SFRs zoned R2, duplexes zoned R3, etc and adding more units to increase the rent roll.

Hope that helps!

I agree with @Dorian Jones in that people aren't going to stop buying, rather they will buy in different areas. We may see a drop off of property purchased in certain cities like West Hollywood, Santa Monica, Venice, etc where prices aren't affordable to the majority, but other cities will begin to thrive. Someone that was willing to spend $1.5M to live in West Hollywood 2-4 years ago won't pay $3M for a house there now, rather they will still pay $1.5M but in Silverlake instead.

• $1.2M-$1.5M Construction Costs
• $4,300,000+ARV
• CurrentSFR:1,610SqFt
• If allowed, best usage of lots is to build 4,000-5,000 SqFt SFR
• Soils report being conducted now 
• Very nice large flat backyard

We have this property under contract and ready to assign. This is one of the most sought after neighborhoods in the Hollywood Hills, just a few minutes off the Sunset Strip. Assuming topography and hillside ordinance allows for maximum two-story build, the resulting product and gorgeous views will garner an excellent ARV. To reiterate, after the build, there will still be a sizable backyard, which is extremely rare for the Hollywood Hills.

If you are a broker or an agent, there is ample opportunity to share the wealth if you have a developer client who would be interested in taking over the assignment at the current price. Feel free to add your fee on top of our asking price. See below and let me know if you have any questions.

Please conduct your own due diligence and contact me with any questions.

@Account Closed we have private beneficiaries that have their own investment criteria. So it depends on the project but for the larger projects we use one of our bennies. For the smaller projects, we use cash. 

I'd say more than the city, it's the capital tied into the deal that distinguishes our goals for returns. For example, if we pick up a property for $300K and the total project cost ends up to be $400K and we make a $40K-$60K spread, why would we go to a pricier area and spend $1.5M on total project costs to make the same amount? It doesn't make sense to me from a financial stand point, but I understand many developers/flippers like particular products for their portfolio or want to stick with their respective pockets even if they have to marginalize. I'd rather do 3 or 4 of those smaller projects than tie up all that capital for one project that will profit the same amount as one of those smaller projects.

To be honest, I have never had to go through the process myself until now. Have had others take care of it before. I'm currently going through it and it's very difficult to get answers from the city!

In Los Angeles, according to the city planners I continue to speak with, here is the rule of thumb:

• R2 Lot must be at least 10,000 sqft in order to do a subdivision and split the lot into 2
• This would make each of the lots you split into 2 individual 5,000sqft lots
• However, if you are within 20% of those numbers, you can submit a request to still subdivide it. You must speak with someone in the city at the end of day....which is very frustrating and takes forever to get a hold of someone
• There are also usually no fees associated with this

Hope that was helpful!

@Daniel Cuevas, I know you posted 4 months ago, so I hope you've been gaining momentum with your network, but don't forget about social media. I've met some great people through Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Use and search different relevant hashtags and message as many people as possible. I don't have thousands of followers but it's worked well for me. Have had many in-person meetings because of it.

I agree with the notion @Andrew Johnson put forth: What else is there to do with cash on hand?

I personally am not one to invest in individual stocks, so aside from passive investments like index funds, gold, etc., what are investors to do?

I will say that I'd rather focus on a quick in-and-out flip than buy something to hold right now. It doesn't make much sense to me to do that in a hot market. I may have to way 1-3 years for it to become a buyers market again but I'm okay busting my tail for those quick flips until it makes more sense.

Whether you've been in the industry for 20 years or just getting started, take a quick read of our manifesto. We might be able to work together if you're interested in expanding your horizons, or at the very least, we might bring you some value down the line.

All feedback is appreciated!

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/leap-telos-manifesto-year-1-josh-gorokhovsky